Wwhoustontexans Autoracing Betting News

<< Geovanni leads 'Quakes past Houston
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Geovanni scored a goal and assisted on another to propel the San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium on Sunday. The Brazilian was making his first Major League So

<< LaCrosse wins again; 10 earn LPGA cards
Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cindy LaCrosse captured her third Duramed Futures Tour victory of the season, beating Jennifer Song on the first hole of a playoff Sunday at the Price Chopper Tour Championship. LaCrosse and Song both c

<< Abreu helps Angels get by A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Abreu drove in three runs and scored three times, as the Angels took down the Athletics, 7-4, to avoid a three-game sweep at the Oakland Coliseum. Abreu and Mike Napoli each homered for Los Angel

<< Jets release FB Richardson
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets have released veteran fullback Tony Richardson. He had re-signed with the team in March after blocking last season for the NFL's top rushing offense, which was led by ve

No. 1 Alabama breaks in youngsters in rout >>
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Alabama took advantage of an opening rout to get plenty of youngsters on the field.The top-ranked Crimson Tide's top tackler in Saturday night's 48-3 route of San Jose State was freshman linebacker C.J. Mosley. The leading rus

Cowboys roll in offensive coordinator's debut >>
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -Oklahoma State uber-booster Boone Pickens spoke for most fans of the Cowboys before their season opener Saturday night against Washington State.``I'm anxious to see what we've got in the way of an offense,'' Pickens said, not

Arkansas sharp in opener, but far from perfect >>
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -If this was Ryan Mallett's idea of a so-so performance, then No. 17 Arkansas has high expectations indeed.Mallett completed 21 of 24 passes Saturday night, leading the Razorbacks over Tennessee Tech 44-3. He threw for 301 ya

Proud powers get early test on rebuilding efforts >>
Michigan-Notre Dame seems so last century now.The game burnished reputations, showcased a handful of top NFL draft picks and often signaled whether either Midwestern power was likely to land a spot in the national championship picture. But the meeti

Betting Football

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.

MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds

According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.

Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet.  The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.

MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.  In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State.  Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.

Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL.  In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

ODDS TO WIN THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

ODDS TO WIN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

ODDS TO WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

ODDS TO WIN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.